This randomized, double-blind, multi-centre study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy and safety of treatment for 4 weeks with codeine plus paracetamol versus paracetamol in relieving chronic pain due to osteoarthritis of the hip. A total of 158 outclinic patients entered the study. Eighty-three patients (mean age 66 years) were treated with codeine 60 mg plus paracetamol 1 g 3 times daily, and 75 patients (mean age 67 years) with paracetamol 1 g 3 times daily. Ibuprofen 400 mg was prescribed as rescue medication. Due to an unexpected high rate of adverse drug reactions, the study was closed before the planned 400 patients had entered. Over weeks 1-4, 87%, 64%, 61% and 52% of patients in the codeine plus paracetamol group, and 38%, 31%, 22% and 29% of patients in the paracetamol group had one or more adverse drug reactions. Significantly more patients in the codeine plus paracetamol group had adverse drug reactions in each of the 4 weeks. Nausea, dizziness, vomiting and constipation were predominant adverse reactions in the codeine plus paracetamol group. During the first week of treatment, 30 patients (36%) in the codeine plus paracetamol group and 9 (12%) in the paracetamol group dropped out. As evaluated from patients completing the first week of treatment, the pain intensity during that week compared to their baseline pain was significantly lower in the codeine plus paracetamol group than in the paracetamol group. Moreover, during the first week the paracetamol group received rescue medicine significantly more frequently. In conclusion, when evaluated after 7 days of treatment, the daily addition of codeine 180 mg to paracetamol 3 g significantly reduced the intensity of chronic pain due to osteoarthritis of the hip joint. However, several adverse drug reactions, mainly of the gastrointestinal tract, and the larger number of patients withdrawing from treatment means that the addition of such doses of codeine cannot be recommended for longer-term treatment of chronic pain in elderly patients.

The purpose of this single-dose, randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind study was to evaluate the analgesic dose-response relationship of 50-mg, 100-mg, 200-mg, and 400-mg doses of ibuprofen after third molar surgery. Patients were instructed to take a single dose of either placebo or 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg, or 400 mg of ibuprofen when the postoperative pain was moderate to severe. Acetaminophen 500 mg was used as a rescue medication. Pain intensity, pain relief, and any possible adverse events were recorded on self-administered questionnaires hourly for 6 hours after intake of study medication. If rescue medication was taken, the time of intake was registered. A total of 304 patients entered the study, and 258 complied with the protocol. A positive analgesic dose-response relationship of 50-mg, 100-mg, 200-mg, and 400-mg doses of ibuprofen was observed when evaluated by pain intensity difference, sum of pain intensity difference, pain relief, total pain relief, and survival distribution of patients not taking rescue medication. Although significant pain relief was seen after a dose of 50 mg ibuprofen, ibuprofen 400 mg provided maximum pain relief and the longest duration of analgesic effect. Mild transient adverse events were reported by 6.8% of the patients. However, there was no significant difference in frequency between the placebo and 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg, and 400 mg ibuprofen dose groups.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the dose-effect relationship of single doses of 4 to 32 mg of lornoxicam (LNX), a new nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug belonging to the oxicam group, compared with placebo and 10 mg ketorolac (KET) in the treatment of pain after oral surgery. Also, it was the aim of the study to evaluate the relationship between adverse events and different doses of LNX. After the surgical removal of a mandibular third molar, test medication was taken when the patients experienced at least moderate pain. After medication, pain relief, pain intensity, and any discomfort from the medication were noted in a questionnaire. Paracetamol was used as rescue medication. A total of 278 patients completed the study according to the protocol. The primary efficacy parameter was total pain relief after 6 hours, and all active treatments showed significantly better effect than placebo, with LNX 16 and 32 mg being significantly superior to LNX 4 mg. All other efficacy parameters showed the same dose-effect relationship. A total of 37 adverse events were reported evenly distributed in the 6 treatment groups; only 3 of these were considered severe, and all disappeared without treatment. In conclusion, the study showed a dose-effect relationship of LNX without a rise in adverse events. The effect of 10 mg KET seemed to be at the level of 8 to 16 mg LNX.

No abstract

In a prospective study of 129 women undergoing induced first-trimester abortion, 14 (10.9%) contracted postabortal pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Samples of vaginal secretion for quantitation of secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) as well as isolates from cervix/urethra for the culture of anaerobes and aerobes, including Bacteroides fragilis et melaninogenicus and Gardnerella vaginalis, were obtained at the preoperative visit. Two blood samples from each woman with postabortal PID were analysed for antibodies against G. vaginalis. Twenty-five per cent of women with a history of PID developed postabortal PID, and 25% with vaginitis contracted postabortal infection (p less than 0.001 and p less than 0.005). Twenty-five per cent of women harboring C. trachomatis at the time of abortion developed infection. The presence of anaerobes or G. vaginalis was not associated with the frequency of postabortal PID (all p-values greater than 0.1). One woman with postabortal PID produced a culture positive for G. vaginalis and a rise in specific antibody titer. The levels of vaginal sIgA were not significantly associated with a positive history of PID (p greater than 0.6), with postabortal PID (p greater than 0.4) or with the presence of anaerobes or G. vaginalis at the time of abortion (p greater than 0.3). However, significantly elevated levels of sIgA were found in women harboring C. trachomatis (p less than 0.05). Thus, the study could not demonstrate any correlation between vaginal sIgA and PID, but increased sIgA in Chlamydia-positive women. A history of PID and vaginitis entailed a significant risk of contracting postabortal PID.